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                  <a href="#id3197551" class="shortcut">Description</a></nobr></td></tr>
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<div class="refentry" lang="en">
<a name="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching"></a><div class="titlepage"></div>
<div class="refnamediv"><table width="100%"><tr>
<td valign="top">
<h2>
<a name="id3197342"></a><span class="refentrytitle">Glob-style pattern matching</span>
</h2>
<p>Glob-style pattern matching &#8212; matches strings against patterns containing '*' (wildcard) and '?' (joker)</p>
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<td valign="top" align="right"></td>
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<div class="refsynopsisdiv">
<h2>Synopsis</h2>
<pre class="synopsis">

#include &lt;glib.h&gt;


                    <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a>;
<a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a>*       <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-spec-new">g_pattern_spec_new</a>                  (const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *pattern);
void                <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-spec-free">g_pattern_spec_free</a>                 (<a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec);
<a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gboolean">gboolean</a>            <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-spec-equal">g_pattern_spec_equal</a>                (<a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec1,
                                                         <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec2);
<a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gboolean">gboolean</a>            <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-match">g_pattern_match</a>                     (<a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec,
                                                         <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#guint">guint</a> string_length,
                                                         const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *string,
                                                         const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *string_reversed);
<a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gboolean">gboolean</a>            <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-match-string">g_pattern_match_string</a>              (<a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec,
                                                         const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *string);
<a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gboolean">gboolean</a>            <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-match-simple">g_pattern_match_simple</a>              (const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *pattern,
                                                         const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *string);
</pre>
</div>
<div class="refsect1" lang="en">
<a name="id3197551"></a><h2>Description</h2>
<p>
The <code class="function">g_pattern_match*</code> functions match a string 
against a pattern containing '*' and '?' wildcards with similar semantics 
as the standard <code class="function">glob()</code> function: '*' matches an arbitrary, possibly empty, 
string, '?' matches an arbitrary character.
</p>
<p>
Note that in contrast to <code class="function">glob()</code>, the '/' character <span class="emphasis"><em>can</em></span> 
be matched by the wildcards, there are no '[...]' character ranges and '*' 
and '?' can <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> be escaped to include them literally 
in a pattern. 
</p>
<p>
When multiple strings must be matched against the same pattern, it is 
better to compile the pattern to a <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec"><span class="type">GPatternSpec</span></a> using <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-spec-new"><code class="function">g_pattern_spec_new()</code></a> 
and use <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-match-string"><code class="function">g_pattern_match_string()</code></a> instead of <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-match-simple"><code class="function">g_pattern_match_simple()</code></a>. This 
avoids the overhead of repeated pattern compilation.
</p>
</div>
<div class="refsect1" lang="en">
<a name="id3197657"></a><h2>Details</h2>
<div class="refsect2" lang="en">
<a name="id3197667"></a><h3>
<a name="GPatternSpec"></a>GPatternSpec</h3>
<a class="indexterm" name="id3197680"></a><pre class="programlisting">typedef struct _GPatternSpec GPatternSpec;</pre>
<p>
A <span class="structname">GPatternSpec</span> is the 'compiled' form of a pattern.
This structure is opaque and its fields cannot be accessed directly.
</p>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="refsect2" lang="en">
<a name="id3197700"></a><h3>
<a name="g-pattern-spec-new"></a>g_pattern_spec_new ()</h3>
<a class="indexterm" name="id3197714"></a><pre class="programlisting"><a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a>*       g_pattern_spec_new                  (const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *pattern);</pre>
<p>
Compiles a pattern to a <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec"><span class="type">GPatternSpec</span></a>.
</p>
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<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>pattern</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>a zero-terminated UTF-8 encoded string
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><span class="emphasis"><em>Returns</em></span>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>a newly-allocated <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec"><span class="type">GPatternSpec</span></a>


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<hr>
<div class="refsect2" lang="en">
<a name="id3197788"></a><h3>
<a name="g-pattern-spec-free"></a>g_pattern_spec_free ()</h3>
<a class="indexterm" name="id3197802"></a><pre class="programlisting">void                g_pattern_spec_free                 (<a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec);</pre>
<p>
Frees the memory allocated for the <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec"><span class="type">GPatternSpec</span></a>.
</p>
<div class="variablelist"><table border="0">
<col align="left" valign="top">
<tbody><tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>pspec</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>a <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec"><span class="type">GPatternSpec</span></a>


</td>
</tr></tbody>
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</div>
<hr>
<div class="refsect2" lang="en">
<a name="id3197865"></a><h3>
<a name="g-pattern-spec-equal"></a>g_pattern_spec_equal ()</h3>
<a class="indexterm" name="id3197878"></a><pre class="programlisting"><a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gboolean">gboolean</a>            g_pattern_spec_equal                (<a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec1,
                                                         <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec2);</pre>
<p>
Compares two compiled pattern specs and returns whether they
will match the same set of strings.
</p>
<div class="variablelist"><table border="0">
<col align="left" valign="top">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>pspec1</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>a <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec"><span class="type">GPatternSpec</span></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>pspec2</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>another <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec"><span class="type">GPatternSpec</span></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><span class="emphasis"><em>Returns</em></span>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>Whether the compiled patterns are equal


</td>
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</div>
<hr>
<div class="refsect2" lang="en">
<a name="id3197975"></a><h3>
<a name="g-pattern-match"></a>g_pattern_match ()</h3>
<a class="indexterm" name="id3197987"></a><pre class="programlisting"><a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gboolean">gboolean</a>            g_pattern_match                     (<a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec,
                                                         <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#guint">guint</a> string_length,
                                                         const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *string,
                                                         const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *string_reversed);</pre>
<p>
Matches a string against a compiled pattern. Passing the correct length of 
the string given is mandatory. The reversed string can be omitted by passing 
<a class="link" href="glib-Standard-Macros.html#NULL:CAPS"><code class="literal">NULL</code></a>, this is more efficient if the reversed version of the string to be 
matched is not at hand, as <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-match"><code class="function">g_pattern_match()</code></a> will only construct it if the 
compiled pattern requires reverse matches.
</p>
<p>
Note that, if the user code will (possibly) match a string against a 
multitude of patterns containing wildcards, chances are high that some 
patterns will require a reversed string. In this case, it's more efficient 
to provide the reversed string to avoid multiple constructions thereof in 
the various calls to <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-match"><code class="function">g_pattern_match()</code></a>.
</p>
<p>
Note also that the reverse of a UTF-8 encoded string can in general 
<span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> be obtained by <a class="link" href="glib-String-Utility-Functions.html#g-strreverse"><code class="function">g_strreverse()</code></a>. This works only 
if the string doesn't contain any multibyte characters. GLib offers the 
<a class="link" href="glib-Unicode-Manipulation.html#g-utf8-strreverse"><code class="function">g_utf8_strreverse()</code></a> function to reverse UTF-8 encoded strings.
</p>
<div class="variablelist"><table border="0">
<col align="left" valign="top">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>pspec</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>a <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec"><span class="type">GPatternSpec</span></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>string_length</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>the length of <em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em> (in bytes, i.e. <code class="function">strlen()</code>, 
     <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> <a class="link" href="glib-Unicode-Manipulation.html#g-utf8-strlen"><code class="function">g_utf8_strlen()</code></a>)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>the UTF-8 encoded string to match
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>string_reversed</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>the reverse of <em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em> or <a class="link" href="glib-Standard-Macros.html#NULL:CAPS"><code class="literal">NULL</code></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><span class="emphasis"><em>Returns</em></span>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>
<a class="link" href="glib-Standard-Macros.html#TRUE:CAPS"><code class="literal">TRUE</code></a> if <em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em> matches <em class="parameter"><code>pspec</code></em>


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<hr>
<div class="refsect2" lang="en">
<a name="id3198263"></a><h3>
<a name="g-pattern-match-string"></a>g_pattern_match_string ()</h3>
<a class="indexterm" name="id3198276"></a><pre class="programlisting"><a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gboolean">gboolean</a>            g_pattern_match_string              (<a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec">GPatternSpec</a> *pspec,
                                                         const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *string);</pre>
<p>
Matches a string against a compiled pattern. If the string is to be 
matched against more than one pattern, consider using <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-match"><code class="function">g_pattern_match()</code></a> 
instead while supplying the reversed string.
</p>
<div class="variablelist"><table border="0">
<col align="left" valign="top">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>pspec</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>a <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#GPatternSpec"><span class="type">GPatternSpec</span></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>the UTF-8 encoded string to match
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><span class="emphasis"><em>Returns</em></span>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>
<a class="link" href="glib-Standard-Macros.html#TRUE:CAPS"><code class="literal">TRUE</code></a> if <em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em> matches <em class="parameter"><code>pspec</code></em>


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</div>
<hr>
<div class="refsect2" lang="en">
<a name="id3198397"></a><h3>
<a name="g-pattern-match-simple"></a>g_pattern_match_simple ()</h3>
<a class="indexterm" name="id3198410"></a><pre class="programlisting"><a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gboolean">gboolean</a>            g_pattern_match_simple              (const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *pattern,
                                                         const <a class="link" href="glib-Basic-Types.html#gchar">gchar</a> *string);</pre>
<p>
Matches a string against a pattern given as a string.
If this function is to be called in a loop, it's more efficient to compile
the pattern once with <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-spec-new"><code class="function">g_pattern_spec_new()</code></a> and call <a class="link" href="glib-Glob-style-pattern-matching.html#g-pattern-match-string"><code class="function">g_pattern_match_string()</code></a>
repeatedly.
</p>
<div class="variablelist"><table border="0">
<col align="left" valign="top">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>pattern</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>the UTF-8 encoded pattern
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>the UTF-8 encoded string to match
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p><span class="term"><span class="emphasis"><em>Returns</em></span>&#160;:</span></p></td>
<td>
<a class="link" href="glib-Standard-Macros.html#TRUE:CAPS"><code class="literal">TRUE</code></a> if <em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em> matches <em class="parameter"><code>pspec</code></em>


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<div class="refsect1" lang="en">
<a name="id3198536"></a><div class="refsect2" lang="en"><a name="id3198537"></a></div>
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